The Federal Trade Commission asserts that "100% Natural" and "All Natural" claims are false if applied to personal-care products containing synthetic ingredients such as dimethicone and phenoxyethanol.

The agency announced its first actions against personal-care product marketers for deceptive natural claims April 12, including four pending settlements with companies that have agreed to stop touting their products as 100% natural or all-natural without competent and reliable evidence to substantiate such positioning.

"'All-natural' or '100 percent natural' means just that – no artificial ingredients or chemicals," says Jessica Rich, director of FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Companies should take a lesson from these cases," she adds.

Like the Food and Drug Administration, FTC has largely refrained from regulating natural claims to date despite significant public controversy over the term and its application to consumer products, leaving federal courts to rule on disputes between consumers and brands on a case-by-case basis Also see "2015 in Review: 'Natural' Claims, Prop 65 Proposals Pose Legal Risks" - HBW Insight, 2 January, 2016..

In its "Green Guides" updated in 2012, FTC disappointed some stakeholders by declining to define "natural," citing a lack of "sufficient evidence on which to base general guidance" Also see "In Absence Of Standards For Natural, NAD Focuses On Context" - HBW Insight, 22 October, 2012..

Importantly, the agency's proposed settlements with personal-care companies pertain specifically to absolute natural claims – 100% or all-natural statements – rather than natural promotions in general.

An FTC spokeperson told "The Rose Sheet" that he was not aware of any plans at the agency to revisit the Green Guides in the near future or otherwise establish a natural definition.

The companies in the process of settling with FTC, with offending claims on items ranging from skin- and hair-care products to sunscreen, are:

Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Trans-India Products, Inc., doing business as ShiKai Natural Hair and Skin Care;
Aravada, Colo.-based Erickson Marketing Group, dba Rocky Mountain Sunscreen;
Memphis, Tenn.-based ABS Consumer Products, LLC, dba EDEN BodyWorks; and
Salt Lake City, Utah-based Beyond Coastal.

Dimethicone, used in the personal-care sector as a hair and skin protectant and conditioning agent, is named in three of the cases as a synthetic ingredient in conflict with all-natural claims.

It also is central to a separate complaint FTC has filed against Sausalito, Calif.-based California Naturel, Inc., which markets a purported all-natural sunscreen containing dimethicone, according to the agency. The case is pending before an administrative law judge, FTC says.

Preservative phenoxyethanol is identified as a synthetic chemical in two of the proposed consent orders, which are subject to public comment through May 12.

The Honest Company's use of phenoxyethanol in natural-positioned products is cited in litigation pending in California and New York district courts Also see "The Honest Company Now Defending 'Natural' Claims On Both Coasts" - HBW Insight, 23 February, 2016..

Other synthetic ingredients at issue in the FTC settlements include ethyhexylglycerin, used in cosmetics as a skin-conditioning agent, among other functions, and featured in ShiKai All Natural Hand and Body Lotion, as well as polyethylene in Rocky Mountain Sunscreen's Natural Face Stick.

Meanwhile, EDEN's Coconut Shea All Natural Styling Elixer and Jojoba Monoi All Natural Shampoo are formulated with synthetic hair-conditioning agents polyquaternium-37, polyquaternium-7 and caprylyl glycol, FTC says.

The vote to issue each administrative complaint and accept the four settlement proposals was 3-0, it notes.

The agency focused on online ads for the products in question and issues a warning to other personal-care players currently using or interested in making all-natural claims.

"If you advertise your product as 'all-natural' or '100% natural' and it contains artificial ingredients or chemicals, now is the natural time for a compliance check," FTC says.

According to its release, the agency will publish descriptions of the consent agreement packages in the Federal Register shortly.

General natural claims seem to be safer for use under FTC's watch. In October 2015, the agency declined to pursue action against Edina, Minn.-based Aspire Beverage Company after the company rejected the National Advertising Division's recommendation that it stop characterizing its sports drinks as natural in the absence of evidence substantiating all of its ingredients as such Also see "First FTC Action On ‘Natural’ Claims Could Ensue From Sports Drink Case" - HBW Insight, 28 July, 2015..

However, in its letter to NAD regarding the referral, FTC said its decision was based partly on the fact that Aspire had dropped the natural claims since tangling with NAD.

FDA has begun amassing public input on whether and how "natural" should be defined and regulated in the food and dietary supplement sectors. Comments were due to the agency in February following its November 2015 notice.

The initiative makes no mention of cosmetics, and any rulemaking on the issue likely is far down the road Also see "FDA Seeks Comment On 'Natural' Food Labeling; Cosmetics Not Mentioned" - HBW Insight, 11 November, 2015..

FTC Settles With Personal-Care Players In 'All Natural' Claims Crackdown

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